Odyssey : chapter 4
a doctor, a ghost and maybe few aliens; what could go wrong ?
If you haven’t read the previous chapters, I request you to read the for context. link at the end 👇🏻
Chapter 4 – Odyssey
The sunrays brought morning with them, and with the stars, the night temporarily took away Mohit’s awareness about the presence of a ghost in his apartment.
He woke up from his slumber and continued with his daily routine like the most unbothered soul on earth.
“AHH!!” A sharp scream welcomed him as soon as he entered the kitchen, and his own scream joined the cacophony. Suddenly, he was jolted awake and reminded of the ghost living with him in the apartment.
“You scared me, Captain!!” Akshara said, still recovering from their collective screaming.
“I scared you? You are the ghost hijacking my house,” he shot back.
“Also, don’t call me Captain. I am not a Captain,” he added, annoyed while retrieving a glass from the cabinet.
“Okay, sir,” she replied, her voice carrying sincerity.
Mohit noticed the chai was ready. He gave her a questioning look, to which she shook her head and replied, “My token of thanks for letting me stay here,” with utmost gratefulness.
Akshara poured two cups of chai and followed Mohit into the living room. She set the cups on the table by the window.
The pleasant wind welcomed her by the window. The birds chirping and the tender sunrays kissing the trees painted a familiar picture in front of her.
She sat with him, nursing the cup, the warmth seeping into her ethereal form.
“Can ghosts drink tea? I mean, you don’t have a body, so where would it go?” Mohit asked with the seriousness of a doctor confirming crossmatching results before a transfusion, while sipping his own tea.
“I don’t know, my guess would be as good as yours. Let’s find out.” With that, she took the first sip of chai.
The warmth washed over her being, almost making her forget her ethereal form. The familiarity seeped in.
“So I can drink, it seems. But I cannot appreciate the flavours very well,” she replied to his earlier question, trying to sound cheerful while masking the disappointment that came with the fading warmth of the chai.
She thought: My morning chai was my anchor to reality. Even now, when my existence itself is mayhem, this familiarity is grounding me. I wonder how many of us take small routines for granted. At times, they slip away like sweat from the forehead on a hot summer day. No one tries to stop it or pay attention to it. We often punctuate its existence with quiet annoyance, but we forget the physiological importance of sweating, it keeps us cool, maintains the core body temperature, and prevents overheating. Had it not been for sweating, we would be panting like dogs to cool ourselves down; like I am panting and heaving for one normal moment of existence while the others enjoy the sweat of living. Maybe Plato was wrong when he said “familiarity breeds contempt,” for I would never take these moments for granted.
a/n : here, chapter 4 is served hot.
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quick trivia : dogs have sweat glands only on their paws, which makes it necessary for them to pant to let heat off the body.
we humans are lucky to have to have abundant sweat glands all over body.
bonus trivia : mammary glands (milk producing glands) are modification of sweat gland.
enjoy folks!
next chapter:
Also the trivia is interesting. Do add more of them in the upcoming posts or notes.. hehe.
Brooo, this was awesome!
I did wonder how could she make tea in her ghost form, but it's just as natural as the ghost in this context. This was amazing.
Her thoughts are the core of this no. For real, small routines ground us the most. We don't realise their importance until we are in dire need of them.
Loved it so much. I was really thinking that he'd probably go to psychiatry department for his hallucination or that the spell would break after him waking up.
I am really looking forward to the next episode.
This series is really super interesting. ✨✨
Keep writing ❤️